Batwoman: lesbian superhero to star in live-action TV show

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A new TV series is set to be the first superhero show with a gay lead character. Batwoman, a new live-action drama, is reportedly in the works for The CW, the US channel behind other DC superhero shows including Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl.

The show's executive producers are former DC Entertainment chief Geoff Johns, Arrow's Greg Berlanti – who recently signed a $400 million deal with Warner Bros – and The Vampire Diaries' writer/producer Caroline Dries.

Batwoman first appeared in DC comic books in 1956 as Kathy Kane, a love-interest for Batman, but the character was relaunched in 2006 as Kate Kane, a lesbian character of Jewish descent.

Variety reports that the new show's version of the character will be "an out lesbian and highly trained street fighter" who is "armed with a passion for social justice and a flair for speaking her mind".

No casting has yet been announced, and the series has not yet been officially commissioned. If Batwoman is given the green light, the series is expected to premiere in 2019.

DC fans will have their first glimpse of Batwoman before then, however. In May, Arrow star Stephen Amell confirmed that the character will be introduced in a December crossover episode, "fighting alongside" heroes from Arrow and other DC programmes.

Batwoman would be the lesbian superhero to star in her own series, but there have previously been gay supporting characters in other DC shows, such as Thunder, a superhero played by Nafessa Williams in The CW's Black Lightning.